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Tennessee safety Todd Kelly Jr. smiled and grabbed the wooden wolf pendant hanging from his necklace when asked about his uptick in production toward the end of spring practice.

"(I developed) a wolf mentality," Kelly said Saturday. "I went to Venice Beach and got this necklace and I've been trying to go out and play like a wolf, kind of sly, but vicious at the same time."

During spring break a month ago, Kelly and UT quarterback Joshua Dobbs traversed The Venice Beach Boardwalk with no intention of buying anything.

After feeling bad for one of the salesmen, though, Kelly promised he'd return to get something. When he did, the wolf necklace stood out.

"My eyes went right to it," the junior said. "Hopefully it'll be my good luck charm this year."

On Saturday, luck was on Kelly's side as he made a diving interception off a tipped pass from Dobbs on the opening drive of the Orange and White Game at Neyland Stadium. Kelly's Orange team (the defense) defeated the White team (offense) 70-63 in a scoring system set up by coach Butch Jones.

"We talked about getting tipped balls and when I saw the ball in the air I knew I had to accept the opportunity," Kelly said. "I dove for it and caught the ball and I felt like it got the momentum going.

"I told everybody that we were going to win. When I say something, I mean it."

Kelly, who has six interceptions in his career, will enter the season as one of the few entrenched starters in a secondary filled with open spots and competition.

No matter how it shakes out, Kelly is confident in the secondary.

"We can be as strong as we want to be," Kelly said. "I feel like our secondary can be one of our strengths. A lot of people saw it as a weakness coming into the season, but after today I'm sure people will see we can be as good as we want to be. We just have to put the time in."

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In the final spring game of their careers, redshirt senior defensive linemen Danny O'Brien and LaTroy Lewis were honored during the award ceremony at halftime for their performance in spring practice.

O'Brien won the Andy Spiva Award, which is given to the most improved defensive player, while Lewis was given the '63' Award for his continuous effort.

"We saw continued growth and continued improvement on a day-to-day basis," Jones said. "They showed great consistency in their performance and really challenged themselves."

Along with being named permanent team captains, seniors Cam Sutton, Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Dobbs and redshirt junior Alvin Kamara each won leadership awards during halftime.

Cornerback Sutton and linebacker Reeves-Maybin won the Al Wilson Leadership Award while Dobbs and running back Kamara won the Peyton Manning Leadership Award.

Freshman wide receiver Preston Williams won the Harvey Robinson Award for most improved player on offense.

Sutton and tight end Jason Croom won the John Stucky Awards for speed and power, respectively, and junior tight end Jakob Johnson also took home the '63' Award.